A star in the making: Keep an eye on the “Kat”

There are times in your life when you come across someone who you can tell right away has that something special. Call it the “it” factor, call it natural ability, call it presence and charisma—call it what you want—but you know it when you see it.

It is particularly rare in the political world.

But such is the case with Kat Abughazaleh, a not-afraid-to-take-it-all-on 26-year-old who is running for the congressional seat in the 9th District of Illinois.

If elected, she would be one of the youngest ever to serve in the United States Congress. 

Kat will be competing for this seat vacated by the popular, longtime Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who has finally decided to step down.  Amazingly, Kat will be doing so against 17 other candidates who have all announced their intention to run. Seventeen! Two of them are longtime, respected Illinois political stalwarts, Laura Fine and Daniel Biss.

On top of that, Kat is new to the Chicago area, having just moved here, while many of her opponents are longtime residents.

With all of the above as a quite an obstacle, let’s just say if this were an Olympic gymnastics or diving competition, Abughazaleh’s run for this particular congressional seat would have a degree of difficulty rating of about 9.9.

But… don’t count her out. She might just “stick the landing.”

As stated before, she has something special about her: the kind of stuff you can’t teach, and that few have. She has, as the saying goes, “a high ceiling.” Unlimited potential, and it might be realized sooner than people think.

Passion, energy, eagerness, enthusiasm, intelligence, intensity, and a total commitment to helping those most in need are what stand out most with Kat.  She knows how to connect with people and can do so with folks of all ages.

Her back story is short (again, only 26 years old), but inspirational.

Abugahzaleh grew up in Dallas, but moved to Arizona in her sophomore year of high school. She went to school there with many low-income and undocumented fellow students, and it opened her eyes to the misconceptions so many have of those populations.

She went on to graduate from George Washington University, where she majored in international relations and was active on the student newspaper, and then started working post-college in journalism, covering many conservative pundits. 

She has worked for Media Matters, The New Republic, and Mother Jones, and through all of these progressive sites, combined with appearances on some national shows, she developed a large social media following. (She has appeared on CNN and on the MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”) The New Republic in 2024 named Kat one of the “top 25 influencers to watch for 2025.”

Patience may not be her strong suit.

Not one to sit back and wait, the then-25-year-old made the bold move to decide to run for Congress in May 2024.

Much of her reasoning for deciding to run was based on her dissatisfaction with the complacency of the current Democratic Party, whose views she agrees with, but feels they have become far to compliant and ineffective in the way they are challenging the current Republican administration. She is not shy in the least in warning people about the growing autocracy she sees in the White House.

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Abughazaleh is unique in many ways: not just her youth, but in her approach to politics. She wants no part of corporate donors, lobbyists, billionaire influencers, or fancy ad campaigns. Her own campaign, and in fact her very persona, is based on a grass-roots appeal to the everyday people trying to make their way through a sometimes difficult life.

She raises money not through lush, expensive fundraisers or high-scale wine-and-dine affairs or those dreaded fundraising e-mails—instead, she funds her campaign through charitable events, group outings, town meetings, and free social events. Her initial fundraiser was handing out feminine hygiene products to those in need.

Doing something positive and helpful, while trying to gain support, is just one way Abughazaleh is doing things differently. All this, while promoting her run for office and what she passionately stands for and believes in.

It is truly a candidacy—and a candidate—of a different kind. 

Can she rise to the admittedly uphill challenge of beating so many worthy contenders, as a young unknown still somewhat new to the area? Can she actually battle for the coveted 9th Congressional District seat that so many are seeking? 

The logical answer would be to say no—she’s too young and has too many obstacles to overcome.

But standard logic may not come into play here.  

I would not bet against her. Kat has that something special… and the smarter bet is, she is going to some high places—and she is getting there very quickly.